Frank
Pong & Jelik crowned AYGP
Skipper & Yacht of the YearBy
AY
MultiMedia12th
June 2013:After
winning two regattas and scoring two 2nd places plus 3rd and 4th places
at six events during the 2012-13
Season, Frank
Pong and the crew on his Reichel/Pugh 75 Jelik, were crowned
the 2012-13AYGP
Skipper
and Yacht of the Year.

Ultimately
it came down to Pong's Jelik and Nick Burns/Fred Kinmonth's
Mills 40 EFG Bank Mandrake, fighting it out at the final showdown
in Ko Samui. EFG Bank Mandrake had to convincingly win the
hotly contested 40 foot IRC 1 class to have a chance of toppling Pong's
heavily optimized Jelik, contesting the big boat IRC 0 class.
However, it was not to be for Burns and Kinmonth, as Pong skippered
his boat to an outstanding showing at the Samui
Regatta, winning 8 out of 10 races, to wrap up the
IRC 0 title and the AYGP
Championship in fine style. (See AY
Photo Gallery for all the action).

How
to win the AYGP
Skipper & Yacht of the Year AwardsBy
AY
MultiMedia
After the overwhelming success of the expanded 2011-12
AYGP scoring system, all skippers and yachts competing
at any of the selected five star AYGP
Championship point scoring events
have a chance of winning the prestigious AYGP
Skipper and Yacht of the Year awards.

The main aim of
the pointscore system is to fairly grade competing Boat owners and Skippers
ability to successfully run full-on racing campaigns through Asian waters
over the 2012-13
Season. All classes are included and the pointscore is
based on the overall results at each of the 12 selected events on the
2012
- 13 Asian Sailing Calendar.

The Pointscore
System has been tweaked a little and launched into the new
season with the following:
1. Everyone entered in any of the 12 regattas/races scores 5 points
for participating
2. Six for winning the class, 4 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd, 2 for 4th and 1
for 5th place overall.
3. “Six best regattas to count” scoring system.
4. Plus a bonus point for each race win in multiple race regattas and
a point loss for any DSQ.
5. In single race events the winner in each class will score three bonus
points and three point loss for DSQ.

Regatta
/ Race Line-up for the season
Twelve regattas make up the 5 star family of events that form the AYGP
Championship. By popular demand this season the biennial Hong Kong to Hainan Island Race
and the Hong Kong to San Fernando Race make a return to the program.

For
sailors that want to race regionally, that makes it 12 *****events -
5 on the Eastern Asian seaboard (Hong Kong China, Vietnam, Philippines)
and 5 in South East Asian waters (Singapore, Malaysia, Phuket SW Thailand,
Indonesia) finishing up with the centrally located Top of the Gulf and
Samui Regatta in the Gulf of Thailand.

Under
the “Six best regattas to count” scoring system these two
regattas will be common events for the two regions as competitors come
together for the grand final showdown. We should not over play the different
regions as boat owners are not restricted to regional events and are
free to compete on both circuits and in as many events they choose to
contest.

We
will continue on with our "Work in Progress" policy that has
served us well for ten seasons and further tweaking is expected to take
place as the season unfolds. We will still be presenting the Perpetual
AYGP
Cup filled with chilled champagne and the winner donning
the Armani
Koh Samui blue blazer at the gala SamuiRegatta
season
ending prize presentation.

Over
the years Peter Ahern has won 2, Neil Pryde (4), Frank Pong (1) and
Ray Roberts (3) should be asked what it takes to succeed. Now that we
are opening up the competition to multiple classes, the degree of difficulty
has just increased to a new and exciting level.

AYGPmedia
coverage comes alive...
We like to keep our readers up to speed, by generating monthly AYGPNewsletters with all the
finer points on the upcoming events, expert analysis, race results plus
links to the Progressive Pointscore & Rankings.
Goto the latest AYGPNewsletter which notify's sailors when the regatta
Photo
Galleries are posted online after each of the twelve selected
regatta/races take place.

AYGP
Commercial Sponsorship OpportunityCompany's
looking at increasing their presence in Asia, will be pleased to know
that an interesting and unique opportunity exists, to gain direct exposure
to the affluent and upwardly mobile sector of the community. The Title
and Trophy Sponsor, Media Partners, Advertising
and Official Suppliers for the 2012-13AsianYachting
Grand Prix (AYGP)Championship
and the annual AYGP
Skipper and Yacht of the Year
awards are now available. Check out the Sponsorship
Entitlements and Rights at: http://asianyachting.com/AYGP/SponsorOpportunity.htm